Alarm-clock.



M. H. KERN.

ALARM CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13. 1915.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

lfiventor:

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

M. H. KERN.

ALARM CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1a. 1915.

1,148,969. Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Inventor:

M. H. KERN.

ALARM CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.13. I9l5.

1,148,969. Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- 57/ ,6 a1. m i7 1 m 36 28 1' I 4140 M U- 32 Q Attest: J6. lie/v1 Inventor:

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 110.. WASHINU ION, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAXIMILIAN H. KERN, OF RIDGEWOOD, YORK.

ALARM-CLOCK.

Application filed March 13, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MAXIMILIAN H. KERN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ridgewood, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alarm-Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to alarm clocks, and its novelty consists in the construction and adaptation of the parts as will be more fully hereinafter pointed out.

Alarm clocks are of course provided with a gong and clapper or similar device for making a noise by which an alarm is sounded; they are also almost universally provided with a silencing device usually in the form of a lever by the actuation of which the tintinnabulation of the alarm is quieted. Alarm clocks are we believe most commonly employed for awakening people from sleep in the early morning hours when it is yet dark, and the complaint is frequently made that unless the alarm is promptly shut off it is apt to awaken not only the person intended but also everyone within range of the sound. The silencing lever is usually made to project from the rear or side of the clock and is commonly inconspicuous and not easily found or manipulated by a person who is only half awake.

The purpose of my invention is to provide means for operating such a silencing device merely by tipping the clock from a normal standing position so that it can quickly be silenced and persons other than the one intended to be alarmed will not be disturbed, or merely by lifting the clock from its support.

In the drawings, there is illustrated 'a preferred form of device embodying my invention.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of an alarm clock provided with my improved device, the parts being in the position which they occupy when the alarm is set to be actuated as soon as a predetermined time arrives on the time setting mechanism; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the casing being removed in order to show concealed parts beneath; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the mechanism in front of the rear case, showing the device including the lever resting upon the surface whereby the shorter trigger has been Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

Serial No. 14,092.

brought into operative position in connection with the silencing lever; Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the position of the parts when the entire clock casing has been tilted to move the lever out of engagement with the silencing lever and thereby caused the latter to move forward to check the alarm mechanism; Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the clock has been lifted from the surface upon which it rests; Fig. 6 is a detail of the double trigger of the lever.

In the drawings, 10 represents the casing of an alarm clock, and 11 is its rear shell or cover which also serves as a gong. 12 is a handle by which it may be lifted. It is provided with the usual time keeping mechanism and alarm actuating devices which are not shown in detail because they form no part of my invention and are not relevant to this disclosure.

, 13 is a frame which forms part of the usual mechanism of the clock and is adapted to support some of the parts.

The alarm mechanism comprises a bell clapper 14: which is mounted on the end of a spring 15 which is caused to vibrate by means of the usual alarm mechanism not shown, but which includes a toothed wheel indicated at 16 which slowly rotates as the clapper is vibrated and which if stopped stops such vibration, it being connected to accomplish that purpose.

The silencing mechanism of the alarm device includes a device, for instance a bell clapper lever 17 one elbow of which is provided with a tooth indicated at 18 adapted to engage a tooth of the wheel 16 and the other elbow 19 of which, when the clock is not provided with my improved mechanism, is intended to be manually operated from the outside of the casing in order to stop the alarm. This is provided with a projecting pin indicated at 20 and with a spring indicated at 21, the function of the spring being to move it into engagement with the toothed wheel 16, when the lever hereinafter referred to is actuated.

The plate 25 is secured in a position adjacent to the frame 13 by means of slots indicated at 26, 27 and 28 which are adapted to engage members 29, 30 and 31 projecting rearwardly from the frame, and which members are either already in the device as part of the clock mechanism or are especially provided for that purpose. It 1s necessary that one of them, for instance member 31, should overlap the edges of its engaging slot in order that the plate may be compelled to move in a vertical plane. The plate is provided with two feet 32 and 33 terminating in an identical plane surface so that they may rest upon the same support as the body of the clock. It is also provided with a projection indicated at 34 adapted to be engaged by a spring 36 tending to push the entire plate downward. A pin 35 projecting from the front of the plate is adapted to engage one edge of a lever 40 presently to be described. At its uppermost end, the plate is provided with a laterally projecting trigger 37 having two fingers indicated at 370 and 371, 370 being the longest.

Secured at any convenient place on the device, as for instance the cross rod 41, is a coiled spring 42 secured to the end of which is a pivoted lever 40 one end of which is arranged to be drawn upward by the action of the spring. The other end of this lever is adapted to contact with the pin 35 above referred to and assist in thrusting the plate 25 downward when the clock is lifted. A detent 43, either a part of the mechanism already in the device or especially provided for that purpose, is adapted to limit the movement of this lever 40 in a downward direction. The material of which the plate 25 is composed may be of such a weight that the spring 36 may be dispensed with, and the plate, when lifted, will fall by gravity.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, such are their positions when the entire device is lifted from its support, for instance while the clock is being wound or the alarm is being set. It will be noticed that in such positions the upper part of the slot 27 is in contact with the projecting member 30 and the upper part of the slot 28 in contact with the projecting member 31 and the pin 35 is not in contact with the lower edge of the lever 40, but the entire plate 25 is pressed downward through the resilient action of the spring 36. At the same time, the finger 370 of the trigger 37 contacts with the pin 20 on the elbow lever 17 to keep the latter in a completely inoperative position. WVhen the device is placed upon a flat surface, as a table, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the contact of the two feet 32 and 33 of the plate 25 with such surface, and the weight of the clock cotiperating therewith, causes an upward movement of such plate 25 with respect to the parts of the mechanism within the clock, bringing the pin 35 into contact with the lever 40 and cocking the elbow lever 17 by causing the pin 20 to snap from the finger 370 to the shorter finger 371 of the trigger 37. The device is then ready quickly to be operated. Supposing that the alarm has been actuated and the bell clapper 14 is being rapidly vibrated against the gong 11 and it is desirable to interrupt the function of the alarm mechanism, this can be accomplished merely by tilting the upper part of the entire mechanism rearwardly as illustrated in Fig. 4. This throws the plate 25 upward to a greater extent than its position in Fig. 3, and moving the pin 35 against the lever 40, stretches the spring 42. At the same time, the trigger finger 37 is snapped away from the pin 20 and acting under the influence of the spring 21 the elbow lever 17 of the silencing mechanism is thrust forward and its tooth 18 engages the wheel 16 and stops the alarm mechanism and quiets the device. Substantially the same result may be accomplished by lifting the entire device from its support as illustrated in Fig.

In this case, however, the plate 25 instead of being moved upwardly with respect to the other mechanism of the device is moved downwardly because as soon as the clock is lifted from such support the spring 36, pressing upon the projecting portion 34 of the plate 25, moves the plate downward and this snaps the finger 371 away from the pin 20 of the elbow lever 17 and causes the latter through the influence of the spring 21 to be thrown into engagement with the tooth 16 to stop the alarm mechanism as before, so that it will be seen that merely by tilting the alarm clock when it is provided with my improved device, or by lifting it away from its support it is at once silenced.

I claim 1. In combination, an alarm clock, a silencing device therefor, means for holding said silencing device in inoperative position and adapted to release it when moved in one direction, said means comprising a vertically slidable plate.

2. In combination, an alarm clock, a. silencing device therefor, a trigger adapted to hold such device inoperative, and a plate adapted to release the trigger when moved to either of two positions.

3. In combination, an alarm clock, a silencing device therefor, a trigger adapted to hold such device inoperative, and means for moving the trigger and releasing the silencing device merely by tilting the clock.

4. In combination, an alarm clock, a silencing device therefor, a trigger adapted to hold such device inoperative, and means for moving the trigger and actuating the silencer merely by lifting the clock.

5. The combination with the silencing device of an alarm clock including a spring pressed lever, of means for holding it normally inoperative including a slidable plate and means for moving the plate with respect to the silencing lever.

6. The combination with the silencing device of an alarm clock, including a spring pressed lever, of means for holding it normally inoperative, including a slidable plate and spring actuated means for moving the plate with respect to the silencing lever, when the clock is tilted or lifted.

7. The combination with an alarm clock of means for silencing the alarm including a lever, a movable plate, a trigger arranged on the end of the plate, fingers arranged on the end of the trigger and means on the end of the lever engageable with the fingers adapted to be released to stop the alarm when the clock is tilted.

8. The combination with an alarm clock of means for silencing the alarm including a lever, a slidable plate, a trigger arranged on the end of the plate, and means on the end of the lever engageable with the trigger adapted to be released to stop the alarm when the clock is tilted.

9. The combination with an alarm clock a silencing lever therefor, means for holding said lever in inoperative position and means for moving said first mentioned means consisting of a movable plate adapted to be operated by lifting the clock.

10. The combination of an alarm clock, a silencer therefor, movable means for releasing said silencer and means for forcing the movement of said movable means when the clock is lifted.

11. The combination of an alarm clock, a silencer therefor, movable means for releasing said silencer and spring actuated means for forcing the movement of said movable means when the clock is tilted.

12. The combination of an alarm clock, a silencer therefor, movable means for releasing said silencer and a spring actuated lever for forcing the movement of said movable means when the clock is lifted.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MAXIMILIAN H. KERN.

Witnesses:

MARY H. LEWIS, ALDA L. MILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

